PotC: A Pirate's Brand
by corinne sparrow
Summary: Companion Story to Potc: The Soul of a Pirate - Corinne is taken captive by one of Jack's former crewmen, somehow escaped from prison. Can Jack reach her in time? How much is he willing to sacrifice? Please R&R!
1. Captive!

Chapter One 

The salt wind blew from the south, and Corinne Young breathed it in with a contented sigh. She looked out from her perch atop the crow's nest and watched the clouds go by. The sky was a beautiful azure blue, and the water glowed.

Suddenly, she saw something...it looked like...

"Land!" she shouted down to Jack. He pulled out his telescope and looked in the direction she pointed. He nodded, and then turned the helm towards the dark blue shape on the horizon.

The _Black Pearl_ was nearly out of water, and they were searching for a spit of land large enough to contain fresh water. From there, they could go another month without restocking food and stores.

Corinne swung down from the crow's nest, heading for the hold. There she grabbed a huge empty water keg and tried to toss it up on deck, but she struggled with its weight above her. Anna Maria jumped down to help her, and soon they were back on top deck.

"We'll be there by noon," Jack surmised, glancing to the sky. The sun was close to the center; they would arrive at their destination within the hour. Then he turned the wheel to the left slightly; the _Pearl_ sometimes had a tendency to veer right a little.

"What did you want me to do when we get there?" she asked, climbing up onto the poop deck.

"Thought there might be some date or coconut palms somewhere on the island; if you can find something." He chuckled. "Obviously, you couldn't carry a full seventy gallon barrel of water, even with help."

She grinned. "We'll have to work on that."

"Indeed." He tossed a lock of hair back from his forehead. Then, as he turned to answer someone else's question, Corinne headed for the main cabin. She entered, searching for her knife. She found it, lying on the table. It was a long blade – the only thing she was skilled enough to handle yet, but she was learning quickly. She tied the belt around her waist and grabbed a bottle of rum. Jack would pass it around before they left the ship, as a tradition. He grinned as she stepped back into the sunlight.

"You know my heart, luv," he laughed.

Corinne threw the bottle to him, and he tossed a mouthful back. He offered her some, but she shook her head. She may have loved being a pirate and may have been in love with one...but she had no stomach for rum. That would have to be his area of expertise. The experiences she'd had with rum did not coincide with the 'happy memories' label.

"Still sober and dry?" he wondered mournfully. "You don't know what you're missing, darling."

She raised her eyebrows. "I often wonder how you have any room for food or drink inside you next to your hot air, Captain Jack Sparrow." She folded her arms smugly.

"My hot air takes second place from my heart, luv." He grinned when she shook her head and rolled her eyes. She always did that when she was beaten and had no reply. Because she knew he was right.

"Well then, leave some of that rum for the rest of us who still has room inside!" Gibbs shouted, and the others laughed. Corinne didn't bother blushing; most of the tender moments she and Jack shared ended with some joke from the crew. It was their way of showing that they accepted her.

The island was small, but it looked like it would service their needs. Jack and Gibbs went off in search of fresh water, while Corinne headed towards the other side. She didn't see any fruit-bearing palms on this beach, but maybe something that was worth keeping grew on this hunk of rock.

The air was fresh, and she plodded through the sand until she reached the trees. There were several birds in the palms, and they squawked while turning a suspicious eye on Corinne. She ignored them; she could handle Mr. Cotton's parrot, but these ones were wild and she didn't have time to deal with them.

The atmosphere inside the foliage was quite different from the open sea or the beach; the air stuck to her skin and she felt closed in. But it was only because of the close canopy of palm trees overhead. Apparently, no one had ever - or at least not recently - been on this island.

The smell of rum reached her nostrils, and she turned her head to the left. It was unlike Jack to bring any ashore when they were doing a task like lifting water barrels. If someone got drunk and dropped his keg, it could spring a leak or shatter. She frowned; that didn't smell like it was coming from the shore side, though. It was coming from up ahead.

Pulling out her long knife, Corinne hacked away at the bushed in front of her, determined to find something worth keeping before they left. She couldn't help with the heavy things or the difficult tasks yet; after all, she'd only been a pirate for three months. That wasn't long enough to make her invincible like the rest of them.

She grinned to herself; if they were indestructible, they wouldn't be on the run. Gibbs had told her of the curse that had been over the _Black Pearl_ and all who sailed under its flag. Now _those_ pirates were unbeatable.

Then, a noise from ahead broke her reverie. She listened; it was the sound of...voices. She didn't recognize any of them. All the same...she knew she ought to look to make sure.

Peering through the foliage ahead, she nearly gasped in surprise. There were over two dozen men camped in a large clearing, and they were all starting to light fires. Apparently, the _Pearl_ had arrived just before they had.

"You're not getting back on that ship until you find me something to keep," ordered the man she assumed was the captain. The men dispersed, and Corinne stumbled backward, belatedly realizing that she'd stayed too long already. She backed up against a tree, and turned around to find her way...and she was staring into the sneering face of a pirate. He grabbed her arms and twisted one behind her.

"'ello, miss." He barged through the underbrush and into the clearing. The captain looked up, surprised.

"I brought you something worth keeping, Cap'n," he let a crooked grin grace his ugly face.

"Indeed you have," the captain replied, grinning himself. "Where ya from, Missy? Maybe we can find something good on your ship."

"I don't have a ship," she replied. "My ship was wrecked here three months ago and I barely escaped with my life." She added a haughty look as she straightened her posture. "And you look as if you barely escaped from a good washing with only your life."

That earned her a slap, a hard-fisted blow across the cheek. "Respect those who are kind enough to let you live," he growled. "And I have yet to decide on that yet." He motioned to the pirate who still was holding her arm twisted behind her back. "Take her aboard, and if we tire of her, we'll throw her to the sea."

A throaty laugh escaped the pirate's lips, and he half dragged, half shoved her into a boat. Then, seizing her again, he tied her wrists behind her. "It's time to go aboard your new home, miss."

The captain began shouting orders for the men to return to the ship. Apparently, he didn't believe her little story about being shipwrecked. Well, it was the best she could have come up with...even if she was wearing pirate clothing.

"What's 'appening?" One scalawag asked, pulling his hat off and wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm.

"I think there's other pirates here," another answered. So this one was smarter than he looked.

Several other pirates piled into the little boat as well, having found coconut palms or wild animals that were now dead. They all looked greedily at her, and she closed her eyes and set her jaw, ignoring their stares.

The boat ride did not last very long, and soon they were on the other ship. It was newer than the _Pearl_, but it appeared as if it had seen better days. Probably the pirates had already battered it within an inch of its life. The pirates spilled out onto the deck, storing their wares and heading for the hold to find some rum.

Below deck, Corinne stumbled along the ship's belly; her hands were totally numb from the ropes and twisting and she was beginning to see white spots in front of her eyes. She vaguely noticed an iron cell...was it empty or did she have a cell mate? She couldn't tell. The pirate opened the door, untied the ropes, and heaved her in, closing it with a loud _clang_. The _clickety click click click_ of the key's final locking did not break her stupor. Corinne felt the jerk as the anchor was pulled up and the gentle rocking as the ship began to sail...but none of that mattered now. She was already too close to passing into a dark world...


	2. The Chase is On

Chapter Two

Jack made sure the ropes were snug around the barrel before shouting up to Gibbs. The first mate grunted with the effort, threw some more weight into it, and finally managed to get the water keg on deck.

"It's for the good of the ship, remember that!" Jack yelled, and he caught the grin before his friend turned away.

"How many barrels left?" he asked Anna Maria. She shrugged. "Two, maybe three. It will take a good hour to finish up and be out of here."

"All right. Then I'm going to find Corinne."

He let her clamber up onto the ship and then turned the skiff around. The shore was not far away, and it was only a matter of ten minutes to make it to shore. He dragged the little boat onto the beach and headed off in the direction his love had gone.

The birds made a lot of racket, and he frowned at them as he cut through the trees. Then he found the path she'd blazed; not bad, but not the work of an expert, either. Then again, he was no expert himself.

It was almost serene in the little jungle on this island; it would have been more peaceful had there been less conspicuous animals spying at him from the treetops. Then something stung his sense of smell...rum. And it wasn't his brew, either. He knew what the Tortuga rum smelled like, and that wasn't it. Probably someone's own special concoction, due to Commodore Norrington's ban on liquor. Chances were, there was a private still on this island, set up by someone who was, he had to admit, quite smart. He peered through the bushes ahead, and found the source of the smell. But it wasn't a still.

A dirty young scalawag lay sleeping in the undergrowth, snoring away and clutching a half-empty bottle of rum to his chest. Jack had never met him, but he knew another pirate when he saw one. He pulled out his sword, its blade barely _ping_ing on the sheath as he drew it, and held it to the man's throat. The cold touch of steel woke him up, and he nearly slit his own throat on Jack's blade.

A quick peripheral glance told him that he wasn't being threatened by a novice. Jack had the steady, sure hand of an expert swordsman, and the alarming glint of impulsiveness in his eyes warned him to keep still. This man might seal his doom on a whim.

"Where are you from?" Jack demanded. "What ship? Who is your captain?"

He tried to scramble away from the deadly blade, but it inched ever closer to his throat. "I...The ship is - ah..." his eyes strayed from Jack's face to the silvery edge that was chafing his Adam's apple. "I'm from the t-t-_Titan_," he stammered.

Jack did not move, but the wheels in his head turned at a fast pace. The _Titan_...he'd seen her, once. She'd been beautiful and glorious...but that had been long ago. Her captain had run her onto the rocks nearly twelve years ago, more than two years before the mutiny on the _Pearl_. So either this man was lying, or...

"Get up." He pulled the blade far enough away that the young pirate - he looked to be about twenty - could bring himself to a crouch, and finally, a standing position.

"Now, you coward, tell me something. Have you seen a young woman pass this way?"

His large green eyes widened. "She belongs to you, eh?" He let a sneer cross his rather ugly face. "She's gone by now. I've been left on purpose, to..." he let his voice trail off and seemed disinterested in talking anymore about his errand. But Jack had already guessed it.

"Your precious captain's treasure store is on this island, is it not?" he wondered aloud, grinning at the astonished look on the young man's face. "Well, you're of no value to him, since you've already effectively managed to give away the fact that there are valuables somewhere on this island, and rest assured, we _will_ find them." He threw the flat of his blade into a hard whip on the man's left cheek, drawing a raised, red welt and a trickle of blood down the side of his face. "And yes," he added, "She _does_ belong to me."

Gibbs watched as the two men got into the boat and the one he didn't recognize rowed them to the _Pearl_. Jack looked very angry. His face bore thunderstorms waiting to happen.

The dinghy was heaved up, and Jack jumped out after the young pirate, who had a gash on his cheek. He looked around at the pirates of the _Black Pearl_ with distrust as he stumbled out on deck.

Jack prodded him with his blade. "Tie him up."

Mr. Cotton grabbed some heavy rope and began to do so. He didn't struggle, but he spat on the deck once.

Anna Maria looked at Jack with question in her eyes. "Where's Corinne?"

He looked away. "She's gone." No one said any more. Jack climbed up to the poop deck and took hold of the helm. He glanced down at the prisoner. "Put him in the cell," he ordered coldly. Cotton obeyed, handling him with little mercy. Other pirates were not looked upon kindly. And anyone who mocked the disappearance of a member of this ship would suffer much at their hands.

Jack pulled out his telescope and looked through its small glass, peering in the distance. He could see through it another nearby island, far away, and something...something else. A ship.

He roused his spirit and ordered the anchor pulled up and turned the wheel in the direction of the other island. Gibbs could see the blue edge too, and he stepped up beside Jack.

"Captain, you think it's wise to go near more land when we've got what we need? What if there are British settlements on that island?"

Jack turned his head slightly. "Land isn't the only thing that lies in that direction." He grabbed his distance glass and handed it to Gibbs. "Take a look, bearing to port just a little of the land."

His friend took in a quick breath when he saw it. "That where our prisoner came from?"

"Aye. He also said something else that's interesting. He said his ship was called the _Titan_."

"The _Titan_?" Gibbs was impacted by that. "I heard much about that one after I came here. You ever been on it?"

"No, but I've seen her. Beautiful ship. Perhaps not as good as the _Pearl_, but then again, nothing is to me. Her captain rolled her over some rocky straits over by Mexico."

"So he's lyin'?"

Jack shrugged. "He might be. Then again, I never actually _saw_ what happened to the _Titan_, just heard. He and I never were on good terms, and there were others who didn't care for him, either."

"Hmmm." Gibbs looked toward their destination. "Maybe she's just christened after the old _Titan_," he suggested.

Jack shook his head. "No, anyone stupid enough to rename their ship after _that_ ill-fated vessel wouldn't have a ship that large. She's bigger than the _Pearl_, even."

"I guess we'll have to find out from the captain how his ship came back from Davy Jones...right before we kill him."

Jack nodded slightly, looking off into the distance. Any other day he would have sucked in the fresh sea air and admired the beauty of the ocean. Today it wasn't a likely occurrence. Gibbs stepped down from the upper deck and began to work alongside the others. If they wanted to catch up any time soon, work was going to be hard and tireless.


	3. Pull Yourself Together

Chapter Three

Everything was blurry; Corinne could not make out a single shape. All she saw was a dark shape against a light shape and some smaller shapes behind the dark shape. Then the dark shape moved, and her vision cleared. She sat upright and clambered into the corner of her cell, backing away from the man across the way that was looking at her with a concerned expression.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her. She took a second look and realized that he wasn't a pirate.

"Who are you?" she wondered, staring at his black uniform. She knew it from somewhere, but...

"I'm Jose Villa. These pirates captured me from the military vessel I was ministering aboard."

_Ministering?_ This man was a clergy. "So you were the chaplain?"

"Well actually," he began, "I was riding with them for a short while on my way toward Jamaica to perform a wedding for a very important British officer -"

"Not by any chance, the honorable James Norrington?" she broke in.

The look of surprise registered on his face. "Why, yes, that's his name. But how did you know?"

Corinne hid a belying grin and slipped into her aristocratic, clipped British accent. "I have not always been a pirate." His face was priceless. Then she let the lazier twang creep back into her voice. It was very hard, living on the same ship as Jack, not to pick up a few of his slurs. "The Commodore's fiancée happens to be a friend of mine. My cousin's best friend, as well."

"Really?" he was astounded to have found a common relation to his own business.

"Yes...she's a wonderful girl. But go on, about your capture."

"Well anyhow, I was sailing with them for a brief period of time - from St. Augustine to Port Royale - and when I reached my destination, I was to be allowed a week of leisure from my life at the church, and then, after performing the wedding, I was to be sent home with some other ship that was going that way. But these pirates took me hostage while they plundered the _Jupiter_, and -"

"The _Jupiter_?" she laughed in surprise, and then quickly stifled it. He was not chuckling. "Sorry."

"They did not allow me to return to my British allies, and the captain refused to fire because he would only get paid if I was returned safely. So they sailed away, and I've been down here...well, I'm not entirely sure how long. But it's been at least two weeks."

"I'm sure it was terrible for you," she said, trying to look empathetic. She was still trying to keep from laughing aloud at the similarity of their situations. Then a thought occurred to her. "I do have a favor to ask of you, if we should get out of here."

"Name it," he replied, appearing patient and kind.

"Would you perform another wedding ceremony for me?" she asked. He looked confused.

"Who would it be for?"

"It would be for Jack and me."

"Jack -?"

"Jack Sparrow. Well, _Captain _Jack Sparrow, if he has his way. I'm really tired of sleeping in the main crew cabin. Jack says he wouldn't mind if we shared, but there's still some British left in me, and, well...old habits die hard."

He looked aghast. "Jack Sparrow?"

Corinne laughed lightly. "Don't believe all the terrible stories you hear, Mr. Villa. Jack is a pirate and a good man. I myself was taken captive much in the same way you were, but with different treatment from the _Pearl_ and her crew. In fact, I was treated better on the pirate ship than I was on both the British ships I sailed on."

Jose seemed to take it all in quickly. "So you want me to perform your wedding..."

"Yes, and of course, we'll pay you. In gold."

He seemed to brighten at that prospect. "Why, I do not believe it would be a problem for me to do a small ceremony."

Corinne smiled, inwardly wondering if that would ever happen. Though if anyone could manage to rescue her, it was Jack. She only hoped that he would come soon.

Jack yelled at the crew the next day, finding fault with everything and grousing about anything he saw. They exchanged a few wearied glances that bore the frustration they were feeling. By mid-morning, Anna Maria climbed up onto the poop deck and grabbed the wheel. Jack looked at her with a menacing glare.

"Whaddya want?" he asked, the smell of rum - more potent than usual - pervading the area around him.

She didn't answer; only laid a well-placed blow across his cheek with her palm.

Jack turned his head and stared at her. "What was that for?"

"Pull yourself together, Jack." She hopped down and pulled herself into the riggings, heading for the crow's nest. He put a hand to his face, and then watched her for a moment. Then he corked his rum and tossed it to Gibbs with an order to put it in his cabin.

He was going to find Corinne. If it had been himself, he would want his crew to keep to the Code. But when someone like Corinne was captured - she hated to admit it to him but she really was defenseless and without any real fighting skills - it was their duty to bring her back. She didn't fall behind; she'd been pulled behind. And he _would_ bring her back.


	4. A Lil' ol' Pirate

Chapter Four

The clatter of boots coming down the steps woke Corinne, and she sat back in her cell, watching as a young pirate - fresh-faced, and without even a hint of stubble - approached the cells. He was holding two pieces of bread and a small jug of water.

"Brought you some food," he said haltingly, handing her the bread. She reached between the bars and grabbed it, stuffing half of it into her mouth. She hadn't eaten in a day and a half, and her stomach rumbled all the time now. It ceased its persistent growling and took in the food she fed it. The clergy was awake now, and he reached for his food, as well. He chewed it slowly.

"So where'd you come from, Miss?" the lad asked. Corinne grinned. "I'm a pirate." She replied. His expression transformed from one of surprise.

"A pirate? Then why are you holed up in the cell here?"

"Nobody asked if I was a pirate. They just decided to grab me and make a run for it."

He shrugged and handed Corinne the water jug. "Though I don't suppose it would make any difference to Cap'n Pintel -"

He broke off as she spit her water out...all over his pants. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve. _Pintel!_ She knew that name...he was one of Barbossa's pirates, had a companion with only one eye. Jack had described his former crew in detail to her on an idle day. Pintel, apparently, had been one of the less intelligent ones. But somehow, he must have managed to escape from prison, where, last anyone had heard, they were awaiting the gallows.

She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Went down the wrong pipe."

He peered down at his now-wet breeches suspiciously. "I'm goin' now." The lad left, and Corinne was left with the clergy again. She waited until she was sure the young pirate was gone, and then began to pry at the corners and nooks of her cell. It had been solidly made...there was no way out.

"No lie, she said she was a pirate!" he cried, staggering away from the brute who'd just slugged him.

"And she scared you so much you wet yourself?" he sneered, shoving the lad.

"I swear, as soon as I mentioned the Captain, she spit her water all over me! Blasted wench," he muttered under his breath.

"Why would she care about me?" came a voice behind him. He turned to see the Captain standing there. "I mean, I'm just a little ol' pirate...right, men?"

Several of them laughed. They were interrupted, however, by the voice of another pirate. It was the one who had retrieved the young woman. "How would she know about you, Cap'n? I mean, she said she'd been shipwrecked for a while. We've only been sailing for a month or so."

The Captain thought for a moment, scratching his stubbled chin. "She was lyin'. Bring her to me."


End file.
